Total Fitness - Your Virtual Personal Trainer!

Calories!

2008-07-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Calories..

What are they and how many a day should we consume? A question asked all the time!!!

Some foods and beverages contain ‘empty calories’ such as alcohol and sweets because they contain lots of calories but no nutritional value whatsoever

A generic table shows below the daily recommended amounts of calories to be consumed per day:

Women Sedentary 2000
Women Active 2500

Men Sedentary 2500
Men Active 3000

A Calorie is ‘The unit of measurement of energy derived from digested food. Fat contains about twice as many calories per gram as protein or carbohydrate’.

Foods have carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Some beverages have alcohol.
Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.
Proteins have 4 calories per gram.
Alcohol has 7 calories per gram.
Fat has 9 calories per gram.

The UK department of health estimates that a female requires on average 1940 calories per day and a male requires 2550 calories per day.

These figures vary greatly though depending on your lifestyle, your age, your body composition, your height and weight and your daily activity!!

If someone is very active and works out a lot or is constantly busy then they will be burning off more calories than say someone who is sedentary.

To lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you are consuming - leaving your body in a deficit. Easy!

When your body is in a deficit it has no choice but to consume some other form of energy such as your body’s fat resources - common sense really!!

Heart Rates!

2008-07-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

Do you exercise because you want to lose weight?
If so, you probably know that cardio exercise is a key factor in helping you lose weight.
Many people are warned to stay within their 'fat burning' zone for the best results, but do you really burn more fat if you work at lower intensities? Is it the most effective way to help you lose weight?

The body does burn a higher percentage of calories from fat in the 'fat burning zone' or at lower intensities.
But, at higher intensities, you burn a greater number of overall calories which is what you should be concerned about when trying to lose weight

What Is Your Target Heart Rate Zone?

In order to figure out which zone you are in you can use the KARNOVEN FORMULA, which in basic terms is 220- your age!
Or to make it a bit more precise you can incorporate you resting heart rate as well!

Here is the formula for a 25 year old with a resting heart rate of 65:

220 – 25 = 195
195 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 130
130 x 65 % = 84.5 (lower end) 0r 85% (higher end) =110.5
84.5 + 65 = 149.5
110.5 + 65 =175.5.

Therefore to work out between 65% and 85% or your maximum heart rate you would train between 149.5 and 175.5!

To work out your resting heart rate the best method is when you wake up in the morning take for pulse for 15 seconds then multiply by four! It is most accurate in the morning as you have not yet had any caffeine or stress!

Snacks!

2008-07-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

After coming home from finishing a tough ride on my new bike I was so hungry I barely had any control over my hunger and ended up eating anything I could get my hands on…and then feeling guilty after I decide to stock up on some healthy snacks!

So thought I would list some for you to choose from!

One of the best nutritional tips for people trying to lose weight or just eat healthy is to eat little meals all the time!
Never go for more than two-three hours without eating.
When you eat more often you speed up your metabolic rate, the longer you go without eating the slower your metabolic rate gets…

SO, some healthy things to snack on during the day could be:
• Dried fruit/ nuts
• Yogurt with fruit/ muesli/honey
• Granola bars
• Fruit-bananas/apples/strawberries
• Handful of nuts (raw)
• Fruit smoothie
• Wholegrain crisps
• Hummus and carrots
• Crispbread/ryvita with peanut butter/honey/jam
• Seeds and raisins mix
• Two pieces dark chocolate

The benefit of eating foods such as listed above is that they are mostly slow releasing meaning they will help curb your cravings. When you eat meals high in sugar and fat you feel full for only a short time and soon you are craving something sweet to satisfy your hunger.
Eating foods which have a low GI (glycemic Index) means they release into your blood sugar levels slowly hence keeping you full for longer.

Eating little and often is proven to help people lose weight but you must remember to make your portion sizes smaller otherwise you will end up consuming more calories than before and could end up gaining weight.

Weight Training

2008-07-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Following on from last week I thought I would write a bit more about RESISTANCE TRAINING.

What is resistance training?
Well, it is basically using resistance to gain more defined or bigger stronger muscles!
People can train in many different ways and styles to obtain the goals they desire.

There are different types of weights such as machine weights, free weights, kettle bells and even core stability based weights! Depending on whether you want to gain size or tone and define there are different sets and repetitions you can undertake to help aid you to your ultimate goal.

To gain size it is generally recommended that you force your muscles to go beyond its customary intensity. Overload progression can be obtained by:

• adding more weights
• number of sets or repetitions

A common guideline for building size would be between 8 and 10 reps to failure! Meaning that somewhere between the 8th or 10th rep you should be almost on your maximum and really pushing that last rep out!

To tone and define, it is usual to decrease the amount of weight you are lifting and increase the repetitions.

For example, a common guideline for toning would be:
• 12-15 reps
• beginning to tire at between the 12th and 15th rep

It is generally recommended that if given a program you should stick to it for six weeks then change it so your body doesn’t have a chance to adapt! You can break up your program easily by either:
• training different muscles on different days
• doing a mini circuit one day- i.e 5 min warm up on bike/ rower then do one set of about 3 or 4 different weights, then again do 5 mins on treadmill/ bike, then back to weights again and so on
• push and pull exercises- opposite muscles- triceps and biceps, back and chest, lower back and abdominals
• doing upper body one day and lower body the next

Some very general rules for resistance training are:
• Never train the same muscles two consecutive days in a row- give your muscles 24-28 hours rest in between
• Always work opposite muscles- chest/back, biceps/triceps. As this decreases your chance of injury as muscles will be same strength and one muscles wont be pulling on the other
• If you are sore- don’t train! The theory no pain no gain is NOT true! Your body is trying to heal itself!

Protein!

2008-07-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

After talking about women’s health last week I thought it was only fair to mention a few topics today on Men’s Health! After working in a gym for nearly five years one of the most common questions I hear from a man are ‘should I use protein shakes?’ and ‘when should I take protein shakes?’

SO, a few tips about Protein are:

• Protein is required for building and repairing muscle
• most athletes will find that their protein intakes are high enough because of the extra food they are eating to meet the energy needs of their sport
• high protein diets are not necessarily harmful but can get expensive and can carry the risk of replacing other nutritional goals

Guidelines for daily protein intake- grams per kg or body weight per day

Activity level Protein g/kg/d
Sedentary to low levels of activity 0.75
Regular activity (more than 1 hour per day) 1.0-1.2
Endurance athletes 1.2-1.4
Strength or speed athletes 1.2-1.7

The body naturally produces protein and most people can get their protein from food! Some of the foods that contain protein are:
• Eggs
• Chicken breast
• Turkey
• Nuts
• Cheese
• Milk
• Tofu

If you still feel you need protein shakes, then the times you need to take the shake depend on what your goals are! If you take the shake before your workout you will help preserve the lean tissue and will provide a small amount of energy. If you have the shake after your workout it will help aid in the recovery of your session!

Health Tips For Women!

2008-06-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, this week its going to be some health tips for women!!

For a woman to be fit and healthy all she needs to do is follow these general guidelines and believe in herself that she can do it!

Why not train with a buddy if you are conscious of training in the gym by yourself?

Or, if you lack the motivation don’t forgot that most gyms offer a wide variety of exercises classes for all different levels of fitness and personal tastes, from dancing to aerobics to spinning!

1) Exercise:
To maintain a healthy body all you need to do is take part in physical exercise three times a week for thirty minutes. Whether is be going for a walk in the park, taking part in an aerobics class or going for a swim in your local pool

2) Weights training:
No weights are NOT just for men! Resistance training has so many benefits! Many women are under the misconception they will ‘get too big’ or ‘they will hurt themselves’ or ‘look stupid’ by doing weights! The common phrase heard when a women mentions weights is ‘I just want to get toned’.

Well, here are a few ‘real truths’ on the benefits of resistance training:

• Your resting metabolic rate will be elevated
• You will continue to burn calories even after you have finished your workout
• It is very difficult for women to gain huge muscles mass- a women must have a high level of testosterone in her body to enable her to build muscle. Some women do- you will know if you are one of them!
• It will decrease your chances of developing arthritis and osteoporosis later in life
• It will improve your posture and increase your stamina
• Weight training will aid you in your chosen field whether it be running or cycling or swimming or playing a sport! As you
• Weight training can elevate your mood
• Weight training will bring your body fat percentage down more than just doing cardio alone

3) Eat Right:
Exercise alone won’t give you the perfect body! Diet plays a big part in achieving that dream body. On average a sedentary women should consume about 1800-2000 calories a day. Active women should consumer anywhere from 2000- 2500 calories depending on the amount of exercise being undertaken

Metabolism

2008-06-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me about ‘metabolism’ and ask how it works and what it actually is…

Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism, the chemical reactions in the body's cells that convert the fuel from food into the energy needed to do everything from moving to thinking to growing.

Some people have slow metabolisms meaning they burn off calories at a slower rate than others and people with fast metabolisms tend to burn off calories very easily…here are a few tips in which you can speed up the rate of your metabolism

1) Build Muscle
Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.

Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.

2) Move More
Although the average person burns around 30% of calories through daily activity, many sedentary people only use around 15%. Simply being aware of this fact – and taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn.

The trick is to keep the ‘keep moving’ message in mind. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning calories:
• Stand up and stretch
• Move your head from side to side
• Change position
• Wriggle and fidget
• Pace up and down
• Don’t use the internal phone – go in person
• Use the upstairs loo
• Park in the furthest corner of the car park
• Stand up when you’re on the phone
• Clench and release your muscles
You’ll find lots of opportunities for burning more calories if you remember that you’re looking for them! Keep thinking ‘keep moving’.

3) Aerobic Exercise
As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.

Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging or swimming, 3-4 times a week.

4) Eat Little and Often
There is some evidence to suggest that eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than larger, less frequent meals. There are two reasons why meal frequency may affect your metabolism. Firstly, levels of thyroid hormones begin to drop within hours of eating a meal, and metabolism slows. Secondly, it may be that the thermogenic effect of eating several small meals is slightly higher than eating the same amount of calories all at once.

Provided your small meals don’t degenerate into quick-fix, high fat, high sugar snacks, eating little and often can also help to control hunger and make you less likely binge!

Over Training!

2008-06-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

Following on from last week I decided to write about the symptoms of over training. Some people start exercising and then they begin to enjoy it so much that they just can’t stop!

There is such a thing as ‘exercise addiction’ which falls under the same category as other addictions such as smoking and chocolate and drinking!

Although it is not as harmful as the other addictions, exercise addiction usually begins when people start feeling guilty if they don’t train or if they don’t burn off a particular amount of calories each day/week!

Over training essentially occurs when the volume and intensity of your training sessions exceeds that of what your body is capable of. It is a common problem usually found in weight training where not enough rest is given between training days but is also found in runners and other athletes.

Symptoms of over training would include:

• your strength increases will start to decline or come to a plateau
• you will constantly feel fatigued
• depression
• unable to sleep
• constantly feel exhausted
• more likely to catch flu and colds
• loss of motivation
• decreased appetite
• muscles soreness remains longer than usual
• headaches and moodiness
• pain in muscles and joints
• lack of energy

So, if you begin to feel one ore more of these symptoms coming on it is your bodies way of telling you to rest!!

Once you feel rested and rearing to go you can return to the gym but remember to take it easy!

Rest Times!

2008-06-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

I see so may people come into the gym day after day and train the exact same exercise on the exact same muscles day after day and then they come to me and ask ‘why am I not getting bigger?’ or ‘why am I not toning my muscles?’……

Well effectively when you train you are using your glycogen resources and depending on how fit you are or how severely you have trained you may well have depleted your glycogen reserves meaning you are going to feel slightly tender the next day.

In order to maximize your performance and results you need to rest the parts of your body which have been worked the day before hand. Say, for example, on the Tuesday you went to the gym and did a massive weights session on your legs and did squats, lunges, dead-lifts and so on….you will have severely depleted your glycogen meaning (again depending on your fitness levels and age) you will have to rest those muscles for at least 24-48 hours.

A symptom of training too hard or working a muscle so hard that you may have actually created a tiny tear in your muscle fiber is called DOMS – delayed muscles onset soreness. This is the pain or discomfort felt 24-72 hours after training.
Some people even state that the discomfort increases on the second day after training but by the third day has almost dissipated.

In other words, you need to give your body time to refuel itself before you go and slaughter it again on the weights!

So, to train efficiently as well as effectively you need to ensure you give your body ‘rest days’ between training. After working say, legs, one day, then it is fine to do upper body the next day! Cardio is generally OK most days depending on your current fitness levels!

Training Time : Morning Vs Evening

2008-05-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Training in the morning vs. training in the evenings.

After dragging myself out of bed at the awful hour of before 6am last Friday morning to go and teach a spinning class only to find there were zero people attending, I decided to write a few pointers on which is better- training in the morning vs. training in the evening.

If you are an avid gym bunny and you have trained both in the morning and in the evening you will have found that the gym is relatively empty in the mornings compared to the rush hour of ‘after work’ sessions which begin at about 4.30 pm and almost every treadmill, cross trainer, rower and even resistance machine is being used! Why is this??

Well, depending on the results you are after- both can have good and bad reasons! Here are a few pointers on each:
Mornings:
• If you are after weight loss/fat loss the morning is a great time to train as you wont have much glycogen (carbs) in your body and the fuel your body will end up using will be your fat resources
• BUT saying this- it is harder for your body to break down your fat resources and you will get tired quicker- but once your body manages to break down and use your fat resources you will feel great!
• If you train in the mornings, it’s done! You don’t have to sit and dwell all day about whether or not you will go to the gym or go home and have a nice lazy day instead...
• Training in the mornings boosts your metabolism and gives you energy to help you get through the day!

Evenings:
• you will have lots of glycogen available in your body hence giving you lots of fuel for your body to use as energy
• If you have had a stressful day, exercise is a great way to relieve that stress!
• Be wary of training too late in the evening as if you raise your heart rate quite high when you are training, it may stay elevated hence hindering your chances of falling asleep!
• The gyms have more life in the evenings and create more of a vibe which will encourage you to train!
• Most gyms offer more classes in the evening so if you need that extra push why not book yourself in for a class?
• Be careful of the ‘lack of motivation’ which some people feel in the evening after a long hard day at work and going home seems the more sensible option rather than hitting the gym.....

In all, it really comes down to personal preference, for me I prefer training in the mornings as its out of the way and I can enjoy my day more knowing that I can go home after work and not feel guilty about eating that pudding or dessert....

Summer Fitness Tips!

2008-05-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

Well so much for my ‘summer fitness tips’ last week! The weather seems to have shifted back into ‘miserable London weather’ again…

Still, the fact that the sun is not out in full pelt means you still have time to get back into the gym and give your body one last blast to get the ‘ultimate bikini body’ before Summer really hits!

If you are not a regular gym bunny and would really like to shape up or tone your body for summer this year here are some tips on how to ‘quickly but effectively’ sculpt that body of yours….

1) Aim to do at least 30- 45 minutes of cardio a week- alternate your cardio. One day do the treadmill, the next day use the bike and the next use the cross trainer etc..

2) Break your cardio into intervals- of course after you have done your warm up- find your comfortable pace, then up that pace to ‘out of your comfort zone’ for 2 minutes then come back to your comfort zone again for 2 minutes and continue. An example of this could be on the treadmill- hold a flat jog, then sprint for 2 minutes, then go back to normal or you could even try going up into a hill for 2 minutes. Doing interval training not only helps your heart get stronger but will increase your metabolism hence meaning you burn off more calories after you finish training!

3) Hit the weights! The urban myth of ‘I don’t want to get big muscles’ is exactly that- an urban myth! Aim to train your big muscle groups- such as Chest, Back, Shoulders and Legs and do between 12 and 15 reps of each exercise. Doing the big muscles groups will again help increase your metabolism and doing higher reps will tone your muscles – not create massive muscles!

4) Don’t eat carbohydrates after 7pm- carbohydrates are your body’s main source of fuel, so if we eat them late at night and do little or no activity then your body doesn’t have anything to do with them and they get stored as fat instead! Carbohydrates convert in glucose in your body and it is this glucose that provides us with energy for the day!

5) Eat breakfast! Breakfast literally means ‘break the fast’. If you don’t eat breakfast you slow down your metabolism, and you will end up craving more refined sugary foods later in the day as your sugar levels will have dipped!

Of course all the obvious still apply- such as limiting your alcohol intake (preferably NO alcohol for a while), no eating takeaways every other night, trying to drink your 2 litres of water a day, and of course trying NOT to deep fry every home made meal!

And of course the most important part is to enjoy it of course!

Fit For Summer!!!

2008-05-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is well on its way if not already here! With temperatures reaching nearly 28 degrees last week I was already out in my backyard before 12.00 ready to begin on my summer tan!

Many people will be dreading this warmer weather as it means that all the wobbly bits you have kept hidden in winter will be exposed during the warmer climate!

So, what better excuse than to give your body a blitz to give you that ‘bikini body’ this summer with the warm weather and the long days!

Here are some summer survival fitness tips-

• Stay hydrated- water has many essential functions such as transporting nutrients around the body, elimination of waste and lubricating the joints and tissues. Without enough hydration the heart has to work harder to move blood through the blood stream which in turn can cause cramping, dizziness and fatigue and even heat stroke!

• Don’t train between the hours of 11.00 and 15.00 as this is the hottest part of the day!

• Wear comfortable loose clothing- to allow circulation of air between your skin and the environment. Also, wear light colored clothing as it reflects the light

• Acclimate your body to the warmer temperatures- it can take between one and two weeks for your body to adjust to the warmer weather, so make sure you start slowly

• Don’t forget to wear your sunscreen!

Welcome To Total Fitness!!

2008-05-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

Health and Fitness has been a part of my life from almost the day I was born! I was born into Horses as my mum is Horse crazy and I ended up having my own pony when I was just 4 or 5 years old. I competed on my horses all over Sydney in Eventing up until the age of 21 when i had a nasty fall which almost ended my riding career.

For almost 12 months I had very limited use of my right arm and was seeing physio therapist after physio therapist and eventually my own injury ended up guiding me onto the path of working within the health and fitness!

I was so fascinated by how the body works and watching how the body works in repairing and healing itself that I ended up pursuing my own career in the health industry.

In March 2004 I attended the Australian Institute of Fitness and undertaking the Fitness essentials and Personal Trainer qualifications.

As soon as I was qualified I began working in a women’ only gym on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where I was to take women through a basic gym induction.

Since then I have worked at Virgin Active in London as a fitness professional and have been to many specialist training courses such as Core Training, Swiss ball training, Bosu Training, Spinning Training, Resistance Training and circuit training.

Now I have moved onto working in a corporate facility as a gym supervisor/ personal trainer where I have been for the last three years. I have also become a qualified Spinning instructor and I freelance out to various gyms teaching the class of up the 32 participants!

Since moving to London I have rediscovered a passion for running from when I was a little girl and have completed three full marathons, numerous half marathons, 10k's and 5k’s. Even managing to win the Land Aid 5km fun run in Battersea park two years in a row!

I have learnt a wealth of information about nutrition and training over the last four years whilst working among some top personal trainers and health specialists throughout the various gyms.

Welcome To Total Fitness!!

2008-05-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

Here at Total Fitness we aim to bring you new up to date tips each week on what’s going on within the fitness world and health and fitness advice!

Whether you are an advanced marathon runner to a complete novice to the whole world of exercise there will be information provide to suit all levels of fitness!
There will be guidelines on training and techniques and information on nutrition which will be updated every week!

To give you an idea of what will be discussed here are just some of the topics:

• Running
• Triathlons
• Resistance training
• Nutrition
• Classes such as step, spinning, body pump etc
• Fitness events
• Gym training
• Motivation and many more.....

Our online virtual Personal trainer- Kim Dayhew will be available to answer any queries you may have regarding your training and nutrition. Kim being a qualified Personal trainer herself whom is very passionate about health and fitness and has worked among various gyms in both London and Australia helping clients to achieve their desired fitness goals.

Total fitness is part of the company Total Fitness Music which creates music to workout to. The music is complied and sequenced by fitness professionals scientifically produced to help you surpass your fitness goals.

You can workout to your favourite music with continuous non stop mixes utilising dance, pop, R&B and rock hits tailor made for all your personal fitness activities including running, walking, aerobics, step, cycling, gym cycle, elliptical machines and body pump.